


The President's Investigation

by vivvav



Series: The Amamiya Investigation (Formerly The Kurusu Investigation) [2]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, The AFR Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 00:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivvav/pseuds/vivvav
Summary: A sequel to "The President's Interview".After unintentionally terrorizing Ren Amamiya some time ago, Makoto Niijima has tried to give him a wide berth. But when she's tasked by the Principal with discovering the identities of the Phantom Thieves, he winds up on her radar yet again.





	1. The Prime Suspects

Makoto Niijima wracked her brain. It wasn’t that she necessarily disagreed with Principal Kobayakawa’s notion that the Phantom Thieves were members of Shujin Academy’s student body, but why was she being asked to investigate it? Shouldn’t this be a police matter?

_“Why me?”_

For most people, this would be a rhetorical complaint. Whining out of the need to whine. Makoto was not most people. Makoto was the kind of person who liked to think things through. Oftentimes she would overthink things. And so she started running through the reasons why this was happening to her.

  * If the Phantom Thieves really got their start at Shujin, continued activity could damage the school’s reputation.
  * If the Phantom Thieves really _did_ have a way to change somebody’s heart, then they were dangerous, and such people shouldn’t be near the other students.
  * Principal Kobayakawa had a school to run. He couldn’t investigate this personally. And even if he did, if the principal started nosing around, the Phantom Thieves would likely take notice.
  * Makoto carried a certain authority among the other students as the Student Council President. She was known for being a little bossy, and could probe around and ask questions without it being seen as odd so long as she kept her cards close to her chest.
  * Makoto was a smart, hard-working girl from a family who excelled in law enforcement, including an older sister who was already a very successful prosecutor in her early 20's and her late father, a skilled detective. This kind of thing was practically in her DNA.
  * As if bringing criminals to justice wasn’t incentive enough, Principal Kobayakawa was offering her a letter of recommendation that could get her into virtually any college she desired. If Sae had drilled one thing into her, it was not to pass up on such opportunities.



That settled it. There was need for this investigation to be held, Makoto was qualified to hold it, and there was even a very considerate reward for her troubles should she succeed. She was going to discover the identities of the Phantom Thieves!

Now she just needed to figure out how.

Obviously, it would help if she had any suspects or clues. The only thing she had to go by were those calling cards Kamoshida got, and those were made with letters cut out of magazines. It’s not like she could do a handwriting analysis on the little sketch either. It was just eyes, a nasty mouth, and a top hat. It was like Ren Amamiya had told her, any elementary schooler could do it.

_“Ren Amamiya…”_

Ren Amamiya, the convict transfer student. Come to think of it, when Makoto spoke to him, he did confirm that he had issues with Mr. Kamoshida. But he also said he had nothing to do with the calling cards and didn’t know who did. But then again, when she asked him for information about those issues, he deflected. Maybe he was lying that day. After all, he was a crimi-

_“No, Makoto. Don’t go there. You’ve already done enough to him.”_

Makoto thought back to the rest of that interview. Or, if she was being honest, that interrogation, as Ren had rightfully called it. She started out trying to get to know him and wound up giving him an anxiety attack or some other kind of mental breakdown. Makoto hadn’t meant to bully the younger boy, but by the end of their discussion he was completely terrified of her.

_“Besides, if he could really ‘steal hearts’, wouldn’t he do it to all of those people who make up those rumors about him? Those clearly bother him far more than Kamoshida ever did. Amamiya-Kun must be innocent.”_

Who else disliked Kamoshida? Well, now that his crimes were out in the open, surely there was no shortage of people. The entirety of the volleyball and track teams, for a start. When it came to individuals, there was Shiho Suzui, that poor girl who tried to kill herself. But not only was she out of school now, but she would still have been in the hospital when Kamoshida had his bizarre change of heart, so it was highly doubtful she had anything to do with it. Perhaps a friend of Suzui’s had done it? Makoto would have to find out who she associated with later. For now, she’d just have to start with the boys Kamoshida abused. Maybe one of them could-

“C’mon, man!” Makoto’s train of thought was interrupted by a particularly loud boy’s voice coming from somewhere down the hall. “I thought we were best buds!”

“We are” a familiar voice replied. Makoto turned towards the source of the noise and saw Ren Amamiya and Ryuji Sakamoto heading down the hall. She quickly hid behind a corner. Makoto had no idea if Ren harbored any lingering trauma from their last encounter, but if he did, she didn’t want her presence to trigger him, especially not while he was with a friend.

“Best buds don’t make each other do lame shit!”

“What about that time you made me watch that weird superhero movie?”

“Whoa, dude! Are you sayin’ you didn’t like ‘The Cake Knight’!?”

“Well, I didn’t hate it. But it’s not a good movie.” Ren and Ryuji had stopped right around the corner Makoto was hiding behind, just a few inches of wall between them. She wanted to move away, but was afraid making any noise would alert them to her presence. “I mean, they fight with baked goods. It’s pretty dumb.”

“But you had fun, right? Studyin’ isn’t fun!”

“Life isn’t always fun and games, man. Sometimes you just gotta buckle down and do what’s important. We need to do well in school or we’ll get kicked out.”

“I dunno man, I can think of worse things.”

“Ryuji, if I get kicked out of school, I go to jail.”

“Okay, okay! We’ll go study instead of doin’ somethin’ cool.”

“Come on, we’ll go to the diner.” Ren and Ryuji headed down the stairs, still unaware of Makoto’s presence. “Let’s see if Ann’ll join us. We can try and make it fun.”

“Okay man, but I’m just gonna throw this out there: We could skip studyin’ and hit the arcade instead.”

“No, Ryuji.” Their voices began to fade as they got out of Makoto’s earshot. “You’re like an elementary schooler sometimes, you know that?”

Makoto stayed where she was, no longer hiding, but thinking. Ryuji Sakamoto did have a reputation for being many things, but a big one was his purported childishness. Makoto could perfectly envision him drawing that silly little face on those cards. And then there was the text of it. It had been so bizarre that she had it memorized:

> _ “Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can’t fight back. That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.” _

The vulgarity of the text didn’t sound unlike Ryuji Sakamoto. And the way it tried to be formal in the second half sounded stilted, like somebody who wanted to convey eloquence but didn’t actually have any idea what it sounded like.

_“But Amamiya-Kun said that he didn’t know who did it. Does he not know his own friend is a Phantom Thief?”_

No. There was no way Ryuji Sakamoto was smart enough to hide that kind of thing from somebody he was that close to. Which meant Ren lied to protect his friend, or worse, that Ren Amamiya was a Phantom Thief himself. There was only one course of action now.

_“It’s time to re-open the investigation of Ren Amamiya.”_

Of course, before doing that, Makoto had to verify her suspicions about Ryuji Sakamoto. Right now, she had no evidence that he was a Phantom Thief, just a hunch. It was entirely possible that he was innocent and that the real Phantom Thieves had deliberately designed their calling card to look like something he would make. If people suspected the guy who was already known for being a delinquent, they’d probably just stop asking questions there. Makoto needed to learn more about the blond loudmouth.

* * *

“She wants to see _me?_ Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Ms. Kawakami sighed. “And once again I’m playing messenger for the Student Council President. Just head upstairs at the end of the day.” The beleaguered educator walked back to her desk.

“The Student Council President wants to talk to a nobody like me. I wonder why…”

Yuuki Mishima was more than surprised. Very few people wanted anything to do with him. Even Ren Amamiya, who was probably the closest thing to a friend he had, seemed to be humoring him most of the time. Mishima knew it didn’t help that whenever he was hanging out with Amamiya, he was full-on Phanboy all the time, but he just couldn’t help himself. Those guys were heroes, and as the first person they saved, it was his solemn duty to aid them any way he could, even if it just meant letting them know about other people in need of saving.

“Hey, Mishima.”

The dark-haired boy jumped in his seat at the sound of his own name from behind him. He looked up to see Ren standing over him, who had a concerned look on his face.

“Amamiya! What’s up?”

“Did I just hear right, about you being called to see the Student Council President?”

“Yeah.”

“Any idea what it's for?”

“Nope. Why?”

“Just be careful, man. That girl is scary.”

“Makoto Niijima? Scary? Are you serious?” Mishima looked to the ceiling, clearly halfway to some kind of daydream. “She’s a real cutie. I’ve never actually talked to her, but now I’m kind of excited.”

“Uh-uh.” Ren snapped his fingers in Mishima’s face, drawing his attention. “Don’t fall for it, Mishima. Her face is nice, sure, but behind it is this robot brain fueled by rage.”

“What are you talking about, Amamiya?”

“Listen closely, Mishima.” Ren leaned in and whispered, adjusting his glasses. “That girl is like a bloodhound sniffing for anything against the established order. And if she’s got your scent, it may have something to do with a certain website. And no matter what happens, if the conversation turns to being about a certain group of mysterious rogues, you cannot share a certain theory of yours that would implicate a certain classmate. You got it?”

“Ce-Certainly.”

“Alright, good.” Ren stood up straight and forcefully patted Mishima on the back. “Meet up with me when you’re free so we can talk about your meeting. Big Bang Burger. Grub’s on me.”

“Don’t worry, Amamiya. You can count on me!” Mishima gave him a thumbs up.

Ren walked over to his desk, returning the thumbs up.

_“Mishima’s gonna fuck this up so bad.”_

 

* * *

 

“Thank you for coming, Mishima-Kun.” Makoto stood by the table in the Student Council Room, giving a slight bow. “I am gratified that you would take time out of your busy schedule to answer my request.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all, Niijima-San.” Mishima returned her bow. “I don’t actually have much to do today.”

“Be that as it may, I’m still glad that you came.” Makoto gave Mishima a pleasant smile.

_“Holy crap she’s so cute! Amamiya must’ve been messing with my head or something earlier! There’s no way this girl’s some Machiavellian evil mastermind!”_

Makoto had rearranged the Student Council Room a bit since Ren tried his little power play. Now there were only four chairs, none of them at the head of the table. She had more chairs on standby if needed, but preferred this new arrangement, as she felt it encouraged more open discussion. She gestured for Mishima to have a seat.

“So, what did you want to see me for, Niijima-San?” Mishima sat down at the table, and Makoto sat across from him. Her smile disappeared, and was replaced by a sad expression.

“I’m afraid it may be an unpleasant conversation topic for you, but it is a matter of great importance.” Makoto reached into her bag and put three items on the table: A pencil, a notebook, and a file with a small label on it reading 'KAMOSHIDA'.

Mishima just stared at the file, his good mood vanishing. The change did not escape Makoto’s notice.

“Mishima-Kun, are you comfortable talking about Mr. Kamoshida? I understand if you don’t want to.”

“Am I here just so you can ask me about the abuse?” Mishima’s eyes remained glued to the file. “What good is that going to do? He’s already in jail.”

“Mishima-Kun, I am not here to ask you about what Mr. Kamoshida did to you.”

“You’re not?” Mishima looked up at Makoto. “Then what do you want me for?”

“Suguru Kamoshida has done a lot of damage to our school, both its reputation and its students. I believe that in order for our school to recover from his crimes against us all, we must make positive steps towards undoing said damage.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Well, keep in mind, this is just a thought I had. It’s not officially in the works yet. But as Student Council President, I am in a position to approach Principal Kobayakawa with ideas for engaging the student body in a way that benefits the school from time to time. One such idea…” Makoto opened her file, and Mishima saw a photo of the track team from a year ago. “Is the restoration of the school’s track team, which Mr. Kamoshida dissolved.”

“Really, Niijima-San!?” Mishima’s face brightened up again. “That would be amazing! Of course, I’m not a runner myself, but I think it’s an incredible gesture. It would make a lot of people here happy.”

“I’m glad you agree, Mishima-Kun.”

“But I still don’t understand why you need me for this.” Mishima thought back to what Ren told him. Makoto Niijima didn’t seem scary, but there _was_ something suspicious about this entire meeting. “How am I supposed to help reinstate the track team? Like I said, I’m not a runner.”

“I asked you here because in order for me to lay the groundwork for reinstating the track team, I need to know why they were disbanded in the first place. I know some of the story, but I was hoping that given your history with Mr. Kamoshida, you could help me fill in the blanks.”

“I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

“Thank you.” Makoto looked Mishima in the eyes. “Now, I have heard that Mr. Kamoshida dissolved the track team because he wanted his volleyball team to be the most successful athletics club at Shujin Academy. With the knowledge that you have, would you consider this statement accurate?”

“Sounds about right.”

“What I don’t understand is the how.” Makoto opened her notebook and readied her pencil. “Mishima-Kun, what can you tell me about the end of the track team?”

“It’s not that complicated. It began with Kamoshida getting the old track coach fired.”

“How did he achieve that?”

“I’m not sure.” Mishima shook his head. “But after that, he took over the track team as their substitute coach. You’ve heard about how much he abused the volleyball team, right?”

“I have, yes.”

“Well, the track team had it even worse. He’d overtrain them for hours on end, trying to wear them out and break their spirits.”

“And he succeeded?”

“Uh-uh. Those guys were dedicated. They had a shot at the national championships. No matter how much they had to struggle, they were determined to keep going. So with them refusing to quit, Kamoshida had to try another angle.”

“And what was that angle, exactly?”

“Ryuji Sakamoto.”

“Ah, yes.” Makoto slid the photo of the track team across the table and pointed to Ryuji. “I was surprised when I realized he was in this picture. I didn’t recognize him without that blond hair.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty surreal, isn’t it?” Mishima looked at the photo and chuckled. “He looks just like everybody else. That’s not like him at all.”

“Indeed.” Makoto returned to her notebook. “So, how does Shujin’s biggest problem child play a role in this story?”

“That’s not fair, Niijima-San.” Mishima put down the photo and frowned. “Sakamoto’s rough around the edges, but he’s not a bad guy.”

“Oh really?” Makoto’s aura changed. She still had the same pleasant smile as when Mishima had entered the room, but now there was some kind of intensity coming from her. “Would you care to elaborate on that, Mishima-Kun?”

“I… Um… Ok.” Mishima was starting to understand what Ren had been talking about earlier. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but it didn’t help much. “Well, Sakamoto was the best runner on the track team. He had the potential to be the whole school’s star athlete. Kamoshida didn’t like that, so he overworked Sakamoto even harder than he did the other runners. When Sakamoto didn’t give up, Kamoshida did some digging and learned some stuff about his family, and started using that to insult him.”

“What kind of information did Mr. Kamoshida learn?”

“Th-that’s not really for me to say, Niijima-San. Nobody should know about it unless Sakamoto wants them to.”

“Of course. My apologies.” Makoto’s intensity faded. She hadn’t meant to go into interrogation mode again. Clearly, getting information from the other students without terrifying them was a skill that needed to be honed. Until she was absolutely certain somebody was guilty, Makoto didn’t want anyone to be afraid of her. “So is this when Sakamoto-Kun attacked Mr. Kamoshida?”

“So you know about that part.” Mishima nodded as Makoto wrote some things down in her notebook. “Yeah. The way most people tell it, Sakamoto just went nuts and attacked Kamoshida for no reason. But the truth is, Kamoshida provoked him. He knew Sakamoto was a hot-head, and that by airing his family’s dirty laundry in front of all his teammates, he could piss off Sakamoto enough to make him do something rash. Sakamoto hit Kamoshida, so Kamoshida broke his leg in ‘self-defense’ and used his behavior as an excuse to break up the entire track team.”

“He broke his leg!?” Makoto stopped writing. “But for a runner, doesn’t that mean-“

“Yeah. Sakamoto can’t run anymore, track team or no track team. And what makes it worse, everybody blames him for the track team’s fate and ignores the fact that Kamoshida totally baited him into it. All anybody can see is this violent punk, but that’s not who he is.”

“Oh really?” Makoto once again picked up her pencil. “In your opinion, Mishima-Kun, who _is_ Ryuji Sakamoto?”

“Like I said, he’s rough around the edges. But he’s a good guy. He’d been asking me questions about Kamoshida’s abuse, but I was too scared to tell the truth. When Suzui tried to kill herself, he stormed into his office to tell him off. It gave me the courage to stand up to him too.”

“I can’t imagine Mr. Kamoshida was happy about that.”

“Yeah, Kamoshida basically threatened to break Sakamoto’s other leg.” Mishima rubbed the back of his head, smiling nervously. “It’s a good thing Amamiya was there, or things would’ve gotten really ugly.”

“‘Amamiya'? Do you mean Ren Amamiya, the transfer student?”

“Yeah. He calmed Sakamoto down before anything crazy happened. But by then, Kamoshida was already pissed, and threatened to have all three of us expelled at the next faculty meeting. It was his word against ours, and who was going to believe two troublemakers and some nobody against the Olympic Medalist gym teacher?”

“Were you the students Kamoshida mentioned having almost expelled when he confessed his crimes?”

“Yup!” Mishima was positively beaming. “Thank goodness for those Phantom Thieves, huh? I mean, expulsion is already bad enough, but it would’ve been especially bad for Amamiya. Did you know that if he gets kicked out of school, he'll go to jail?”

“You seem quite fond of Amamiya-Kun. I know you two are in the same class. Are you friends?”

“I mean… kinda? It’s a weird situation.”

“In what way?”

“Well, you know how everybody’s always spreading those rumors about him?”

“Of course.” Why did he have to mention the rumors? It just made Makoto relive her feelings about that meeting, which made her feel bad for reopening the investigation.

“That’s my fault. I leaked his information online.”

“You did WHAT!?” Makoto’s disgust at herself turned into white-hot fury towards Mishima, and it was on full display. She knew that Ren's record wasn’t supposed to be public, but just figured that some students had overheard some teachers talking about it. After how much he had been hurting, she never expected to find one individual responsible for it. That boy’s life would be nowhere near as difficult if it weren’t for this disgusting little worm right in front of her.

“K-Kamoshida m-made me do it!” Mishima threw his hands in front of his face, and Makoto just barely registered that he was probably expecting her to hit him. Given his history of abuse from Kamoshida, it only made sense for his mind to go there. “I didn’t w-want to do it, b-but you know what he was like!”

“I’m sorry, Mishima-Kun.” Makoto managed to quell her inner flame. “That must have been a terrible position to be in. Have you told Amamiya-Kun about this?”

“He knows.” Mishima calmed down as Makoto calmed down, and even managed to crack a smile. “And get this: He just forgave me! He’s been really cool about the whole thing. He’s a really good person. He sees somebody in pain and just wants to help them. He’s not at all the delinquent people say he is, you know?”

“He certainly doesn’t sound like it, no.” Makoto looked back at her file. “My, but we've gotten off track, haven’t we? I’ll have to speak to a few more people, but I think I know enough to begin trying to revive the school’s track team.” Makoto smiled at Mishima again. “Thank you, Mishima-Kun.”

“I hope this helps, Niijima-San. Have a good afternoon.” Mishima got up and left.

Makoto took inventory of the whole conversation in her head, glancing over her notes from time to time.

_“Sakamoto-Kun certainly had the motive to menace Mr. Kamoshida. Amamiya-Kun as well. But could they really be criminals? From Mishima-Kun's description, they don't seem like the kind of people to harbor any malicious intentions. The more the evidence adds up, the less certain things seem. But I can’t just ignore the possibility that they are the Phantom Thieves. Principal Kobayakawa is counting on me!”_

Makoto let out a long groan and slumped back in her chair.

_“Amamiya-Kun, what am I going to do with you?”_

* * *

As Mishima left Shibuya Station and stepped onto Central Street, he saw Ren standing outside the Big Bang Burger, arguing with a cop. The cop grabbed Ren's arm, but Ren pointed to Mishima and waved at him. Mishima ran over.

“See? He’s here! I was telling the truth!” Ren wrenched his arm out of the cop’s grip.

“Young man,” the cop turned to Mishima, “is this boy your friend?”

“Yes, officer." Mishima's answer was timid. What was going on here?

“And have you come here specifically to see him?”

“Yes, officer.”

“Very well then.” The cop turned to Ren and glared at him. “I better not catch you doing anything suspicious again.” He walked away from the two high schoolers.

“I wasn’t doing anything suspicious this time!” Ren yelled after him.

“What was that about, Amamiya?”

“I was waiting for you outside Big Bang Burger this whole time. I guess some people thought I was loitering or something.” Ren pinched his forehead. “Honestly, ‘loitering’? How is somebody just standing around somewhere even a crime? This society is getting more ridiculous every day.”

“You just can’t catch a break, can you?”

“Nope.” Ren turned to Mishima. “So, what did Miss President want?”

“Well, she didn’t ask me anything about the Phantom Thieves, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She actually asked me a bunch of questions about Kamoshida. Said she wants to reinstate the track team."

“Huh.” Ren started walking into Big Bang Burger, signaling Mishima to follow. “Well, the Student Council does overlook clubs and stuff, right? I guess it makes sense that she'd do that kind of thing.”

“She was really nice, actually. Also…” Mishima thought back to how enraged Makoto got when he mentioned what he did to Ren. “I think she might have a thing for you.”

“What?”

“We talked about you a bit. No Phantom Thief stuff, just about what Kamoshida did to you.” Mishima grinned and gave Ren finger guns. “She got really upset when she learned where all those rumors about you came from. I’m telling you, Amamiya, I think Niijima-San likes you.”

“Get real, Mishima. There’s no way that creature is capable of love.”

“Seriously, Amamiya, she’s not as bad as you think she is.”

“Whatever. Let’s just drop it.” Ren looked at the menu above the counter, and grinned. “Say, I bet I can do the Big Bang Challenge!”

“What? Have you seen how gigantic those burgers are? There’s no way you could do it!”

“I totally could! In fact, I’ll bet you!”

“A bet? How much?”

“1500 yen! And the loser has to cover the cost of the burger too!” Ren held out his hand. Mishima laughed and shook it.

“You’re on, Amamiya. Just try not to puke on my money when you give it to me.”


	2. Woman on the Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Makoto becomes more certain of the identities of the Phantom Thieves, she intensifies her investigation of Ren Amamiya. The next step: Monitoring his activities and talking to the people he interacts with.

Makoto was at home, lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. On the outside, she was completely silent. On the inside, she was at war with herself.

_“Ren Amamiya is a Phantom Thief.”_

_“But I don’t know that for sure.”_

_“But all the evidence suggests it.”_

_“There is very little evidence, and none of it is concrete.”_

_“But it’s extremely unlikely it could be anybody else.”_

_“A case needs more than one suspect to be a thorough investigation.”_

_“There is another suspect; Ryuji Sakamoto. Ren Amamiya's best friend. They’re likely co-conspirators.”_

_“There’s still no real evidence of any wrongdoing on their part.”_

_“So I’ll find some. I’ll learn everything I can about Ren Amamiya.”_

_“But I already know everything on his file. What am I supposed to do, follow him around town and keep a log of his activities?”_

_“That’s not a bad idea…”_

_“What am I saying!? It’s a TERRIBLE idea!”_

Makoto’s internal dialogue was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. She sat up and was shocked to see Sae walk in the door. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be unusual in and of itself, but Sae being home while the sun had not gone completely down yet was a twist in the script.

“Hey Sis. You’re home early.”

“Is that a problem?” Sae’s tone was casual enough, but as usual, talking to her felt like being in the presence of a junkyard dog, ready to snap at any moment. Makoto wondered if this was how other people felt when she asked them questions.

“Of course not! It’s just a surprise, is all. I haven’t even started making dinner yet.”

“There was a power outage at the SIU, of all things. The entire fuse box was worn out. Apparently the electrical system is in need of a dire upgrade.” Sae sat down in a chair by the couch, clearly exasperated. “They’ll have the power back on tomorrow, but for now, nobody can get any work done like this, so the Director told everybody to take the night off.”

“Well, it must be nice to have a break, even if it did come about through such unfortunate circumstances.”

“Just because the office is closed doesn’t mean I’m taking a break.” Sae pulled her laptop out of her bag. “There’s plenty I can do right here.” Sae began to open her laptop. Makoto knew she only had a few moments before Sae was in full-on work mode.

“Hey Sis, I need your help with something.”

“Hm?” Sae closed her laptop. “This isn’t a homework question, is it? You know you should be able to handle that kind of thing on your own.”

“No, it’s a question about investigations.”

“You don’t have to worry about _my_ job. Just stay focused on _your_ studies.”

“This isn’t about your job. This is something I’m doing for the Student Council. I could really use your expertise.”

“ _My_ expertise?” Sae cocked her eyebrow. “Wait, are you holding an investigation of your own?”

“That’s right.” Makoto nodded. “I’m looking into whether members of the student body are engaged in some criminal activities, and-“

“I don’t like the sound of that, Makoto. It could be dangerous.”

“I promise that it isn’t.” Makoto smiled. Sae probably thought it was simply her younger sister trying to be reassuring, but Makoto was just happy to hear some words of caring from her sister that had nothing to do with being told to focus on her studies. “I’m just interviewing other students. This person doesn’t even know he’s being investigated.”

“Alright, I suppose I have a minute.” Sae placed her elbow on the arm of her chair, holding her head up with her hand. As far as Makoto could tell, this was her being supportive. “So you have a prime suspect?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve established a motive?”

“I have.”

“How much evidence do you have?”

“Only circumstantial evidence so far, but I believe I can correct that with the next step of the investigation.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I’m not certain that I should _take_ that next step.”

“What does that mean?”

“Sis…” Makoto fiddled with her headband. It occurred to her that Sae would probably have a negative reaction to the question she was about to ask, but it was too late to back out now. “Have you ever felt wrong about investigating a suspect?”

“Ah, I see what’s going on.” Sae’s eyes widened, and Makoto could swear her mouth almost formed a smile.

“You do?”

“You said you didn’t have any concrete evidence, right?”

“Right.”

“I’ve been in that situation before. Felt like I was chasing a dead end.” Sae looked at Makoto with— Well, it definitely wasn’t a smile, but it was a determined look that signaled some kind of approval. “What you do is keep at it. If your intuition is telling you something is suspicious, look into it. Maybe it won’t be anything after all, but at least you’ll know you weren’t slacking off. And sometimes, those weaker hunches actually _do_ lead you to something.”

“That’s not _un_ helpful, but that’s not quite the problem I’m facing.”

“No? Then what is it?”

“What if you have a strong suspicion but you just don’t feel right about investigating the person? What do you do if all the evidence points to them being the culprit, but you believe they’re a good person?”

“ _That’s_ your problem? Don’t be ridiculous!” Whatever attempt at kindness Sae had been making towards Makoto was over. Now she was just annoyed like she usually was when Makoto’s worldview didn’t align with hers. “Makoto, you’re going to college next year. When are you going to abandon these childish notions of yours!?”

“But you just said I should go with my intuition!”

“If the facts point in one direction, that’s the way you should go. Feelings are easily clouded and have no place in rational decision making. If you’re trying to catch a perpetrator, then it is your duty to follow every thread to the end! I didn’t get where I am by letting criminals go because of feelings!”

“I understand. Thank you.” Makoto got up from the couch. “I think I’ll get dinner started.”

“If you’d like.” Sae opened her laptop and focused on the screen. “I’m not very hungry myself.”

That was the last thing Sae said to Makoto the entire night.

* * *

Ren Amamiya's activities during school hours weren’t particularly strange. He would attend classes, meet up with Ryuji Sakamoto after classes, and one time he checked out a book from the library. However, there were some times when Ren Amamiya would just disappear, not on the second floor where the second year classrooms were, not in the courtyard, not in the library, and he didn’t seem to have passed by the school’s gates either. Where was he?

The answer came in the form of some gossip among some of Makoto’s fellow third-years. She was on her way to the Student Council Room to look through some papers and eat lunch when she overheard a girl with fluffy hair talking to another student.

“I thought nobody else was allowed up on the roof! Who was it?”

“I don’t know”, the fluffy-haired girl replied. “They seemed to be having a private conversation, and I didn’t want to intrude. I did recognize one of them, though. A foreign-looking girl. I believe she’s a model of some sort.”

“What!? I didn’t know a model went to our school!”

_“A foreign-looking girl?”_ Makoto continued into the Student Council room. _“The only student who matches that description is the second-year Ann Takamaki. Come to think of it, isn’t she in Amamiya-Kun’s class? And didn’t he mention an ‘Ann’ to Sakamoto-Kun that one time?”_

The more Makoto thought of it, the more another piece of the puzzle filled in. Ann Takamaki was rumored to be sexually involved with Mr. Kamoshida. Really, she was said to be a licentious person in general, so perhaps she wasn’t so loyal to him, even if he was her lover. It appeared the Phantom Thieves had one more member. And they might have been using the school’s roof to plan their criminal activities. But that couldn’t be right, could it? Everyone knew the school roof was off limits.

 

> _“When are you going to abandon these childish notions of yours!?”_

Sae’s words ran through Makoto’s head. If those second-years really were the Phantom Thieves, why would they care about breaking school rules? They wouldn’t. They’d just do whatever they wanted.

_“But Amamiya-Kun isn’t like that, is he? After all, he had that breakdown! He-“_

 

> _“Feelings are easily clouded and have no place in rational decision making.”_

_“He was doing just fine minutes later… Was he faking it!? If he really IS a Phantom Thief, that could have all been one huge calculated act! But Mishima-Kun attested to his and Sakamoto-Kun’s character…”_

 

> _“I didn’t get where I am by letting criminals go because of feelings!”_

_“I’m getting to the bottom of this!”_

At the end of the day, Makoto stormed up to the roof. Sure enough, there they were: Ann Takamaki, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ren Amamiya. They all stared at her like deer in headlights. Clearly she had walked in on something they didn’t want her to know about.

“This place is off limits you know.” Makoto waited for some response. It came in the form of a groan from Ryuji.

“We’ll get outta here once we’re done chattin’.” He glared at her. “Anyways, what’s Miss Council President want with us?”

_“So that’s the way he wants to play it? Fine. Time to show these delinquents I’m done letting them toy around with me.”_

“The troublemaker, the girl of rumor, and the infamous transfer student… Interesting combination.”

“Great way to start a conversation…” Ann muttered under her breath.

“By the way…” Makoto turned to Ren. “I’ve been thinking about that chat we had not too long ago.”

“Yeah?” Ren was notably less nervous than the first time they met. Was this because he was with friends? “What about it?”

“You never did give me a straight answer when I asked you about Mr. Kamoshida. It seems you got to know him pretty well.”

“Not really.”

“Yeah” Ryuji interjected. “Y’know he’s only been here a month or so.”

“Hm… I heard Mr. Kamoshida used a volleyball team member to spread the details of your past record. Don’t you hate him? Mr. Kamoshida, I mean.”

“I guess I just don’t see a point in it” Ren said. “Hatred won’t help anybody. He’s in jail now.”

“It’s his fault that all of those rumors were spread about you. You weren’t exactly taking those in stride the last time we talked.”

“That was then. I’m over it now. Let people say what they want.” Ren gestured to the other two with a tilt of his head. “I’ve got people who know the real me.”

“What’s all this about?” Ryuji leaned forward in his chair. “My friend here’s an upstandin’ guy.”

“I don’t mean to offend. Many students have been shaken up by what happened with Mr. Kamoshida. The rumors about that odd, calling card-esque posting aren’t going away either.”

Ryuji and Ann exchanged a look. They weren't even trying to be subtle about it.

“I didn’t expect someone like you would care about that tactless stuff, Niijima-Senpai.” Ann spoke in a notably stilted manner. She wasn’t a very good actress.

“I dunno that it was tactless…” Ryuji’s follow-up was equally damning. He turned back to Makoto. “Anyways, we done here? We can’t leave if you keep talkin’ to us.”

“At least try to understand my position.” Makoto couldn’t believe the nerve of these people! Just lounging around calmly, lying to her face! “Being forced to deal with this horseplay…”

“‘Horseplay’?” Ann seemed enraged by that. Makoto decided to leave things there. Nothing else was going to be accomplished this afternoon. But before going…

“Ah yes, by the way… It’s been decided that this place will be closed off due to the incident. I hear some people have been coming up here without permission, after all.” She let that sink in for a moment. Ryuji and Ann were clearly upset by that remark. If it bothered Ren as well, he kept his cool, reinforcing Makoto’s suspicion that his breakdown had all been an act. She turned and left the trio. “I’m sorry to have interrupted you.”

As she left, she heard some more mumbling behind her. Maybe Makoto had played her hand a bit too soon, but it seemed to unnerve the likely Phantom Thieves. Sooner or later, they’d slip up.

* * *

It had been three weeks and they still hadn’t slipped up.

_“Maybe closing off the school’s roof was a mistake. I knew where they were holding their meetings! I should have spied on them instead of chasing them away!”_

Makoto was getting desperate. In said desperation, she had come up with a half-cocked plan. Unfortunately, it was the only plan she had, so it would have to do: She was going to start following Ren Amamiya. She had purchased a manga magazine so she could follow him discreetly, hiding behind it so he didn’t see her face. Of course, she knew it was flimsy cover, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Makoto just didn’t know what to do anymore.

Every day after school, Makoto would follow Ren Amamiya around Shibuya, seemingly without him noticing her. And every day, she’d make note of just how busy he was. Sometimes he could be seen spending time with his friends. He’d go to the arcade with Ryuji Sakamoto, or get tea with Ann Takamaki, or grab a meal with Yuuki Mishima. He had a new friend too, a tall, gangly boy from Kosei High School. Ren had quite a few jobs as well. Some afternoons, he was working at the convenience store. Some evenings, she saw him working at the beef bowl shop. Sometimes he even worked at a flower shop of all places. She also witnessed him holding up a sign for a campaigning politician right outside the Shibuya Station one evening. Makoto was no stranger to responsibilities, but how could one teenage boy juggle so many things?

It was Sunday, and as Makoto followed Ren Amamiya, her frustration and self-doubt were reaching new heights. Everything about the boy was strange, but none of the activities Makoto observed were actually incriminating. The most unsettling thing she had witnessed was him successfully completing the Big Bang Challenge. Makoto was beginning to believe that maybe her hunch was incorrect after all. Maybe the Phantom Thieves really were just some prank, and Mr. Kamoshida had come clean of his own volition. Maybe Ren Amamiya hadn’t faked his breakdown, and really had grown a thick skin with the help of his friends. Maybe Makoto was wrong to suspect him of anything. Maybe he was a normal high schooler, making the most of his day off to spend a leisurely day in the city…

…And go into a gun shop!?

Makoto couldn’t take much more of this emotional whiplash. One minute Ren Amamiya was criminal scum, the next he was a hurt youth in an unjust world. Then she thought he was some kind of cunning liar, and then he just appeared to be a normal teenage boy after all. And now he was in a store that sells weapons, because of course he was! Why would he make things easy for Makoto Niijima? Nobody else did!

Makoto hid outside the store, peeking in through the window. The sun was starting to go down now, and it appeared that Ren hadn’t shown up to purchase anything, but to actually work there. This was another job of his too? Just what did this boy need all of this money for anyway? Makoto kept watching for a few minutes, as he mostly did mundane things like dust off the countertops. Makoto wasn’t going to get better insight into Ren's character just by watching this. Somehow, she had to talk to all the different people Ren associated with. Obviously, not Ryuji, Ann, and Mishima, but the rest of them may be able to help her piece this mystery together.

The next day, Makoto didn’t follow Ren. She wandered around Shibuya questioning his various employers. She made up a cover story about researching high schoolers balancing schoolwork with part-time jobs. For the most part, they were happy to talk to her, but none of them had anything particularly interesting to say. The conversation turned to Ren eventually, and the convenience store manager, beef bowl shop owner, and flower shop girl all said the same thing: Ren Amamiya was a respectful, hard-working young man who did his job well and didn’t complain. Makoto didn’t know what to expect. It’s not like anything shady was going on in a flower shop. Makoto’s suspicions were rekindled by that weapons store. If she was going to learn anything incriminating about Ren, that’s where she was going to have to go.

It was evening when Makoto walked through the doors of Untouchable. There were no other customers present, just the gruff shopkeeper. He was unwrapping a lollipop and looked her way, giving her an amused look.

“Hm. Don’t get many girls in here.” The man stuck the lollipop into his mouth. “How can I help ya?”

“Pardon me, sir. I recently became aware of this establishment and can’t shake my curiosity. What is this place, exactly?”

“First off, I’m no ‘sir’. The name’s ‘Iwai’.” He pointed to a bunch of guns under the glass counter. “And as you can see, this is an Airsoft Shop. I sell model guns for collectors and the like.”

“Of course.” Makoto looked at a model AK-47 kit. “That makes sense. I couldn’t believe you were actually selling functional assault weapons here.”

“Some of ‘em shoot pellets, but they’re pretty much harmless. So if you were lookin’ to kill anyone, I’m afraid you’re outta luck. Sorry, girlie.” Iwai chuckled to himself. It was deep and throaty, just like his speaking voice.

“Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me about the boy who works here.”

“What, Amamiya? You his girlfriend or somethin’?”

“What!? No!” Makoto was repulsed at the very notion. Ren Amamiya was a lot of things, but potential romantic partner was _not_ one of them. Sure, maybe some girls may be attracted to his scruffy looks. And he _was_ a little handsome once you got up close, but- “He goes to my school. I’m curious to know just what he does here.”

“Makes sense. He doesn’t strike me as the kinda guy who’d be lucky enough to land a girl like you.”

“And what kind of person _does_ he strike you as, Iwai-San?”

“Time out, missy.” Iwai pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and pointed it at Makoto. “You’re askin’ a lotta questions, but I don’t talk about my customers or my employees to just anybody. You wanna hang out here, you’re gonna hafta buy somethin’. If not, I’m gonna hafta ask you t’leave.” Iwai pointed the lollipop to the door.

“That’s fair, I suppose.” Makoto didn’t like the idea of owning a fake weapon, but it was necessary for her purposes. Still, it would have to be something small. Something she could stuff in her bag, carry home without notice, and hide from Sae. “Do you have any replica revolvers?”

“A fan of the old school, huh? I can respect that. Gimme a minute.” Iwai walked into the back room. He came back quickly with a an old-looking pistol and a small plastic bag full of pellets. “How’s this? Colt 1851 Navy Revolver. The kind that those American cowboys used in the Wild West. Can shoot little ball bearings, comes with a couple dozen in case you lose a few. 2500 yen.”

“I’ll take it.” Makoto fished her wallet out of her bag. Part of her was a little disappointed that it wasn’t the kind of gun that they used in those detective movies she used to watch with her father as a little girl, but that wasn’t why she was here. 2500 yen was a small price to pay for any good information on Ren Amamiya. She handed the money over to Iwai.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya.” Iwai handed Makoto the fake gun. “So, you wanted t’ask about Amamiya?”

“Yes.” Makoto put the toy gun in her bag. “How long has he been coming here?”

“Not long.”

“What kind of work does he do here?”

“Tidy work.”

“That’s it? He doesn’t deal with customers?”

“Nope.”

“He is a customer himself, isn’t he?”

“Sometimes.”

“What does he buy?”

“What I sell: Replica guns.”

“What does he use them for?”

“Nothin’, far as I know.”

“What do you mean ‘as far as you know’?”

“Claims he’s an enthusiast. Could be lyin’, I guess.”

“Do you think he is?”

“I dunno.”

“Are you aware that he has a criminal record?”

“Nope.”

“Does that change your opinion of him at all?”

“Nope.”

Makoto rolled her eyes. She wasn’t getting anything out of Iwai that she couldn’t have guessed herself; That the kind of person who works in a fake gun shop would own a fake gun.

“One more question, Iwai-San: Do you think Ren Amamiya is a good person?”

“I dunno about good or bad. The kid’s alright. A bit quiet, but there’s nothin’ wrong with that.”

“Thank you, Iwai-San.” Makoto headed for the door.

“Enjoy your purchase, girlie. But if you’re plannin’ on shootin’ Amamiya, do me a favor an’ aim away from the eyes. I’d hate for him to miss a spot while dustin’.”

Makoto sighed as she exited the store. Not only had she not gotten any information, but now she was out 2500 yen and Iwai would probably tell Ren about what had happened. She had done something really stupid in her desperation. Why was this so hard? Ren Amamiya had to be a Phantom Thief! If he wasn’t, that would mean Makoto had wasted weeks of her time!

Makoto was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. The next thing she knew, she was bumping into something soft. Then she fell on the ground, landing on her rear.

_“Huh!? What just happened!?”_

“My goodness!” An older man’s voice cried out from above her. “Are you alright, young lady?”

Makoto looked up to see a hand in a white glove reaching down at her. She took it and was helped to her feet. The hand was attached to a middle-aged man in a grey suit with a green sash reading “Friendly society, bright future” wrapped around him.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Makoto brushed her skirt with her hands quickly, just in case any dirt had gotten on it. “Did I bump into you? I’m very sorry.”

“Think nothing of it. I could have been more aware of my surroundings as well. Besides, you seem to have a great deal on your mind.” The man gave her a big smile. He had a very jovial energy about him. He also seemed familiar.

“Have we met?” Makoto asked.

“No, I don’t believe so” the man answered. “I should like to think that I would remember a lovely young lady such as yourself.” From any other older man, Makoto might have thought that comment had some perverted intent. But this man just seemed genuinely polite.

“Oh! I remember now! You’re the gentleman who’s always giving those speeches outside of the station, right?”

“‘The gentleman’?” The man frowned and put his hand on his hip. “Well, being called that simply won’t do. I am campaigning, after all! My name is Toranosuke Yoshida. It is a pleasure to meet you!” Yoshida bowed gracefully to Makoto. She couldn’t recall any adult ever having lowered his head so far in introduction before.

“I’m Makoto Niijima.” Makoto returned the bow, perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than she meant to. She couldn’t help but be swept up in the man’s cordiality. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Yoshida-San.” Makoto raised her head. “Wait a moment… ‘Toranosuke Yoshida’… I think I’ve read about you in some old newspaper articles. Aren’t you ‘No-Goo’- Oh my!” Makoto covered her mouth. This man had been nothing but pleasant to her, and she didn’t want to insult him. “I am so sorry! I imagine you’re very tired of hearing that title.”

“Please, don’t worry yourself, Niijima-San.” Yoshida gave her a proud smile. “Lately, I’ve learned to stop letting the past weigh me down. I’m just impressed that somebody as young as yourself knows about all that. Tell me, do you have an interest in politics?”

“Not exactly. But I am the President of my school’s Student Council.”

“Intelligent _and_ driven! How wonderful!” Yoshida let out a hearty laugh, and Makoto couldn’t help but blush a bit. In just a short few minutes, this man made her feel better than most adults she was used to talking to. “To think, that I would meet two such incredible young people in such a short amount of time! It gives me hope for our nation’s future!”

“‘Two’?” That’s right! Makoto had seen Ren helping at one of Yoshida’s rallies. They must have had some kind of relationship. “Are you talking about Amamiya-Kun?”

“Ah! You know young Ren as well?”

“Yes. We both attend the same school.”

“Shujin Academy, correct? It must be a truly marvelous institution to have such wonderful students enrolled there!”

“Are you close with Amamiya-Kun, Yoshida-San?”

“Quite close.”

“Would you mind telling me more about him?”

“Not at all! But let us find somewhere more suitable for conversation than the sidewalk. We wouldn’t want to be an obstruction, after all!”

Makoto and Yoshida found a bench and sat down.

“So, Niijima-San, if you don’t mind my asking, why come to me about young Ren? Why not talk to him yourself?”

“The thing is, Yoshida-San, he’s a bit aloof at school.”

“That is surprising to hear. He’s such an earnest and friendly fellow whenever we speak.”

“Well, Yoshida-San, I don’t know if you knew this about him…” Makoto’s stomach turned. She felt guilty about potentially sullying Ren's image in the eyes of such a kind man, but it was necessary for the investigation. “But Amamiya-Kun actually has a criminal record. Everybody at school knows about it, so it’s hard for him to make friends.”

“Really!? He’s never mentioned it before.” Yoshida scratched his chin. “Although, I suppose that would explain a few things.”

“Like what?”

“Well, you know about my reputation as ‘No-Good Tora’, but Ren didn’t.” Yoshida smiled, remembering the night when Ren encouraged him to overcome his hecklers. “When I told him, however, he didn’t think badly of me at all. He told me that he believed people can change, and even gave me the confidence needed to overcome my past.” Yoshida turned to Makoto, beaming with pride. “If what you say is true, I believe that young Ren is looking to overcome his own past as well and become a better man. And with the innate sense of honor and justice he has displayed to me, I fully believe he will one day achieve that.”

“You really have a high opinion of him, don’t you, Yoshida-San?”

“I do, Niijima-San. I’m afraid if you’re trying to, as they say, ‘dig up dirt’ on my young friend, my testimony will be of no help to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is not my first inquiry, young lady.” Yoshida gave Makoto a knowing smirk, but even that expression had a kind way about it. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years in the political world, it’s how to tell when somebody has an ulterior motive.”

“Yes, I suppose you would be accustomed to such things.” Makoto felt ashamed. Yoshida had known exactly what she was up to and was still so nice to her. “Are you going to tell Amamiya-Kun?”

“Hmmm… No, I don’t think I shall.”

“Why not? Isn’t he your friend?”

“He is, and a fine one at that. But although we have only just met, I believe that you are an exceptional person as well, and though you may currently be at odds with Ren, that you will both ultimately end up in the right place. To that end, I see no benefit in pitting you against each other.”

“I don’t understand, Yoshida-San. What do you mean?”

“I have a feeling that my young friend is destined for great things. And I’m getting that same feeling about you as well.” Yoshida thumped his fist against his chest proudly. “I may be No-Good Tora, but that doesn’t mean I am unable to recognize the good in others. I don’t know what destiny holds in store for the two of you, but I have no doubt it will be something splendid! If each of you follows your own sense of righteousness, I am certain that everything will work out for the best!”

“Thank you, Yoshida-San.” Makoto stood up from the bench. “You’ve given me quite a bit to think about.”

“I hope it does not become a burden on you.” Yoshida looked at his watch. “The hour is getting late, Niijima-San. You should head home. This time of night is not safe for a young girl such as yourself.”

“Of course. Thank you again, Yoshida-San.” Makoto briskly began her trip home.

“Farewell, young lady!” Yoshida waved after her.

* * *

As Makoto made her way to the Student Council room, she felt like she was being torn in two. Ren Amamiya and his friends were definitely the Phantom Thieves. And it was her duty to prove it and report them to the principal. This was the next step on her path to a successful life. Yoshida had told her to follow her own sense of righteousness. Catching criminals was righteous, wasn’t it?

Yoshida’s words also made her look at this entire situation from an entirely new angle. What if the Phantom Thieves were following their own sense of righteouness? After all, looking at the grand scheme of things, what had the Phantom Thieves done that was actually wrong? Litter a bulletin board? Start some gossip? These weren’t criminal offenses. Now, Mr. Kamoshida, he was a _real_ criminal. Wasn’t the school better without him? The way he preyed on young people, wasn’t that the exact kind of scum her father would’ve chased to the ends of the Earth to see brought to justice?

_“I wish you were here, Dad. You’d know how to deal with all of this.”_

Makoto tried to clear her head of such thoughts as she entered the Student Council room and sat down at the table. There wasn’t an official meeting today, but there was still work to be done. The Phantom Thieves investigation was only one of her duties, after all.

“You need to stop” said a voice from behind her.

Makoto jumped out of her seat and shrieked. She turned around and saw Ren Amamiya leaning against the wall in the corner of the room, his arms crossed, an intense glare on his face. In that moment, all of the doubts Makoto had about the investigation were shelved away in the back of her mind. There was only one word to describe his mood: Hostile.

“Amamiya-Kun!? What are you doing in here!?”

“It doesn’t feel so good when somebody’s lurking over your shoulder, does it?”

“What are you talking about!?”

“Gee, I wonder.” Ren picked up a random file from a nearby table and held it in front of his face. “I bet I’m totally invisible right now! Yup, there’s no way anybody can see me! It’s not like following somebody around town while hiding your face behind a book is **completely fucking conspicuous** or anything!” Ren threw the file to the side, sending it into a wall.

“What do you want?” Makoto flashed a glare of her own at Ren.

“I want you to stop following me everywhere I go.” To Makoto’s surprise, the anger in Ren's eyes matched the intensity of her own. For anybody with less mental fortitude, that stare might have been terrifying. This was a side of Ren Amamiya that Makoto had never seen before. “I tried to ignore it. I really did. I thought if I just acted like nothing was happening, eventually you’d get bored and it would pass. But then, yesterday, when I realized you weren’t following me, I couldn’t help but wonder why. And then I saw you in the underground mall, at the flower shop.”

Ren took a few steps towards Makoto. “Now, if this were anybody else, I probably would’ve ignored it, but then I realized that Makoto Niijima had no business being in a flower shop, because the Devil has no use for anything beautiful. Sure enough, I decided to followed you— because I know how to tail somebody without them catching on— and there you were, going all around town asking people about me. You even tried putting the screws to Old Man Tora! How low can you get!?”

“I was only-“

“I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR REASON IS!” Ren stormed over to Makoto, standing just a few inches from her, looking down at her with a fury she’d never seen outside of her own family. “I don’t care what you think you know, or what you think is right, or what you’ve been promised, or anything else that goes on under that ridiculous hairband that’s the exact same color as your hair for what I’m sure is some insane reason! It’s time for you to stop following me!”

“Is that a threat, Amamiya-Kun?” Between the yelling and the insults, Makoto’s anger was quickly building up inside of her, but it wasn’t time to let it out. Not just yet. “Are you going to do something to me if I don’t comply?”

“No, I’m not threatening you! Stop jumping to these ridiculous conclusions! I’m not the person you think I am! My friends aren’t the people you think they are! We’re not doing anything wrong! And most importantly, you’re not my probation officer! You don’t get to judge me because of my record, the court already did that!” Ren took a deep breath. He was trying to calm himself. It wasn’t working. “You’re going to stop because this is a waste of time. Both yours and mine. You’re going to stop because stalking somebody is a messed-up thing to do, and after everything I’ve been through, I deserve some goddamn peace of mind!”

“YOU want peace of mind!? You do _not_ know me! You don’t know what my life is like, or what’s going through my head every day! You don’t know how much nonsense I have to put up with! Do you think I WANT to be doing this!? I know what you are, Ren Amamiya! I can’t just ignore that! And I don’t have to deal with your insults either! Let me tell you something: If I was the Devil, I’d do **this.** ”

With lightning speed, Makoto grabbed Ren's arm, moved behind him, and twisted it, putting him into an arm lock. While he was still stunned by this, she kicked at the inside of his knee and forced him to the ground. Within moments, Makoto had pushed Ren's face into the floor, never letting go of his arm. She kneeled down to maintain her hold, and planted her foot firmly on his back.

“What… the hell… are you doing!?” Ren's protests came through labored breaths. Between his ineffective struggles to get free and the pain, speech was difficult at the moment.

“I study more than books, Amamiya-Kun. I’m formally trained in aikido. I also have a fondness for action movies passed down to me by my father, and have observed, practiced, and mastered quite a few martial arts techniques outside of my core discipline. Now, if I were the Devil as you claim I am, I’d force you to tell me what I already know to be true. I’d start by breaking your fingers one by one, then your toes, then moving on to your larger appendages if you refused to cooperate. I would slowly and intimately introduce you to pain as you’ve never known it, and I wouldn’t stop until I got what I wanted. Maybe not even then. Maybe I’d continue to let you bleed as payment for all my troubles.”

Makoto let go of Ren's arm and removed her foot from his back. She stood up, looking down at him as he slowly tried to return to his feet.

“Luckily for you, my father also gave me a strong sense of right and wrong. I will not use force to get what I want, because I am not the cruel person you think I am. But make no mistake. I _will_ catch you. Sooner or later, you or one of your friends is going to slip up, and when that happens, I will be there. When we set out to do something, the Niijimas don’t fail.”

“You…” Ren rose to his feet, holding his arm. He looked at Makoto with equal parts anger and terror. “You can’t just-“

Makoto lurched forward, just a bit. Her feet remained where they were. Really, all she’d done was move her shoulder slightly, but it had the desired effect. Ren jumped back, practically falling over, just barely managing to steady himself by hopping on one foot and reaching out for a wall.

“That’s what I thought.” Makoto sat on the table top, never removing her eyes from Ren. She folded her arms, crossed one leg over the other in a regal fashion, and gave him a haughty, domineering look. “Now get out of **my** Student Council room.”

Ren left wordlessly, closing the door behind him. Makoto remained where she was for a moment, feeling high and mighty.

And then the reality of her actions hit her like a truck.

_“What was THAT!?”_ Makoto lost all sense of balance, and had to keep herself propped up on the table with her arms. _“Did I just threaten to TORTURE him!? I’ve never done anything like that before in my life!”_

Makoto knew that she had her family’s trademark temper, but she had no idea that it was _that_ strong. This was a new side of Makoto, and it terrified her. It was scary to know that she had that kind of rage inside her. It scared her that she was willing to get physical just to prove a point. But the scariest part of all was how much she liked it. Makoto had never been as thrilled in her life as when she had Ren Amamiya under her, the taller boy’s body just a toy to her, one she could break if she so desired. Even afterwards, being able to shut down his impending self-righteous tirade with a mere gesture made her feel a rush of ecstasy.

_“Am I some kind of sadist?”_ Makoto shook her head. _“No, it can’t be that. I didn’t get THOSE kinds of feelings. But was that really a part of ME?”_

Makoto slowly stood up from the table and walked out the door. There was no way she was getting any work done today. And she didn’t trust herself to be around other people right now. She was just going to head straight home.

_“Maybe a calming bath will clear my head.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot damn, this was so much longer than I expected it to be. Originally the entire sequel was just going to be this second chapter, and it was just going to be Makoto interviewing the non-PT Confidants. But I've got this annoying need to try and keep things in line with the game's portrayal of events (you may notice a couple of not-so-hidden easter eggs that are my attempt to reconcile some lingering questions about Makoto's combat style), so that meant that most of those characters hadn't even appeared in the game yet, so I had to come up with more material. Anyway, I think the next chapter will be the last. You know. Probably.


	3. A Queen Among Thieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto's investigation comes to a close, and leads her to joining the Phantom Thieves. But just because she and Ren Amamiya are allies now does not mean that things are fine between them.

“You’re really that hungry for a good letter of recommendation?”

Once again, Makoto found herself confronting Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ann Takamaki. Only this time, Takamaki seemed to be the one ready to grill _her_.

“Of course you are. Nobody would take on your annoying job if they weren’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Makoto had expected some petulance from the Phantom Thieves, but nothing quite like this.

“You’re Student Council President, right? Wouldn’t you have known about Kamoshida?”

“Of course not! He honestly was a good teacher until that day…” That was the truth. Until Ren Amamiya came to Shujin Academy, Makoto paid very little heed to rumors.

“Oh, but you _always_ take the teacher’s side. That’s what a _good_ Council President does, right?”

“Then… How about you? What did you do for your friend?” It felt like a dirty tactic bringing up Shiho Suzui, but Makoto couldn’t stand Takamaki’s implication that she was somehow complicit in Kamoshida’s abuse of the students. She wasn’t the one being investigated, after all. “You were much closer to her than I was, so how did _you_ help?”

“There wasn’t anyway to help! By myself… I couldn’t do anything for her!”

“There’s no need to shout.”

“If those Phantom Thieves are out there helpin’ people…” Once again, Ryuji Sakamoto inserted himself into the conversation. “I’d root for ‘em, no questions asked.” He prefaced his next statement with an accusing glare. “They’ve gotta be more dependable than _some people_ I know.”

Was that true? Was Makoto derelict in her duties by not knowing about Kamoshida’s crimes? She looked at the three of them. Ann and Ryuji just scowled at her. Ren Amamiya remained silent, his head turned away from her. She noticed him peeking at her from the corner of his eye, but when she looked directly at him, he completely averted his gaze.

_“That doesn’t matter right now. I’ve already gotten what I want."_

“…Just make sure you show up to your classes, alright?”

Makoto held her breath as she walked away from the school’s courtyard. She walked briskly, looking for anywhere quiet and isolated.

_“I DID get it, right? Of course I got it. I HAVE to have gotten it. Unless my phone has a bug. No, there’s no way. I have it!”_

Makoto pressed the play button on her recording app. Loud as ever, Ryuji Sakamoto’s voice came out of her phone’s speaker.

“If someone else could help ‘em, we wouldn’t be doin’ stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with!”

_“Yes, yes, YES!”_

Finally, Makoto had her smoking gun. Combined with the picture she’d taken, she had definite proof of the Phantom Thieves’ identities. It had taken over a month, but her long struggle was over. Now she could finally get that letter of recommendation from Principal Kobayakawa and put all of this behind her! All she had to do was march straight into his office and close the case for good!

And yet, for some reason, Makoto’s legs weren’t moving.

 

> _“Are you really that hungry for a letter of recommendation?”_

Was she?

 

> _“They’ve gotta be more dependable than SOME PEOPLE I know.”_

Makoto _was_ dependable! She was intelligent and hard-working. That’s why Principal Kobayakawa had entrusted her with this investigation in the first place… right?

When Makoto came to him with word of the students being terrorized by a criminal organization, Principal Kobayakawa just brushed it off. When she pressed the issue he acted like it must be connected to the Phantom Thieves, and left her to deal with it on her own. These were real criminals, not suspicious high schoolers, and Makoto was being asked to handle them like her prosecutor sister would, all in the hopes that they might have something to do with the Phantom Thieves. If Makoto went to him with the identities of the Phantom Thieves right away, would Principal Kobayakawa just ignore the students being harassed by a criminal organization?

_“Perhaps I should wait a bit before telling him.”_

* * *

The next day was not kind to Makoto. She had an unpleasant run-in with Goro Akechi, the famous teenage detective who sometimes worked with her older sister. Everything about him rubbed her the wrong way, and as he asked her about the Phantom Thieves, she came to the conclusion that he was more interested in seeking glory than seeking justice.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re enjoying this?” Makoto decided to address the issue directly, but she wasn’t prepared for his response.

“You may be right.”

“Huh?”

“Phantom thieves that use calling cards and succeed in their crime…” Akechi flashed a smug grin that made Makoto’s stomach turn. “As the so-called ‘Charismatic Detective’, it’d be hard for me not to see them as my rival.”

“You have such high self-esteem.” Makoto couldn’t contain her disgust. “So the Phantom Thieves are evil, and you’re just?”

“Compared to people who manipulate others’ hearts as they see fit, I believe I’m on the side of justice. Besides, I’m only using my natural-born talents for the sake of serving the world.” Everything about this boy screamed narcissism. “Don’t you think the same about yourself too?”

“I-“ Makoto didn’t have an answer. More and more, things felt uncertain. Was going against the Phantom Thieves really to anybody’s benefit? Between Kamoshida and now the artist Madarame, they were exposing injustices that the rest of society was unaware of. Here were people in power taking advantage of those beneath them, the young especially, and wasn’t it Makoto’s job as the Student Council President to be a voice for her fellow youths? More than anything, wasn’t her role to be a representative? And had she really been filling that role as of late?

“Oh, that’s surprising. So you’re just the good-girl type of pushover.”

Akechi said a couple more things after that and then left, but Makoto didn’t hear them. As smug as those words were, they struck a nerve. Makoto never thought of herself as a pushover, but really, did she do anything out of her own conviction? Her entire investigation of the Phantom Thieves had been cloudy. She kept telling herself that it was for justice, but time and time again that assessment felt wrong somehow.

Sae was always stressing the importance of success, but never showed Makoto any real affection. Everything was about getting ahead, and any questions Makoto had were considered childish and didn’t merit real discussion. Principal Kobayakawa was using her. Even the people she had been investigating had called her out for not having her head in the right place. Ann Takamaki and Ryuji Sakamoto accused her of being an accessory to corrupt authority figures, even if they hadn’t said it in so many words. Ren Amamiya seemed to hate and fear her, and Makoto wasn’t convinced anymore that it was simply because he was guilty and she was onto him. The way he looked at her, it was like all he could see was a monster.

“Why does everyone get on my case?”

It seemed the only person who had anything positive to say to her these days was that politician, Yoshida. Desperate for any kind of comfort, Makoto tried to recall what he said to her.

 

> _“I believe that you are an exceptional person as well, and though you may currently be at odds with Ren, that you will both ultimately end up in the right place.”_

Was that true? Was Ren Amamiya on the right path after all? And could Makoto find her own way to it?

 

> _“If each of you follows your own sense of righteousness, I am certain that everything will work out for the best!”_

_“‘My own sense of righteousness’… That sounds like something that Dad would have said.”_

Maybe Yoshida was right. Maybe Makoto was looking at this all wrong. Maybe the Phantom Thieves weren’t the enemy. Maybe it was time for one more meeting with Ren Amamiya.

* * *

Once again, Ren found himself standing outside the door to the Student Council Room, the result of another summons from the great and powerful President Niijima. He really didn’t want to go in there. But he knew that if he didn’t, that girl would hunt him down and find him. She knew where he lived, after all. And after the way she brutalized him last time, he really didn’t want to deal with that kind of treatment outside of school grounds. At least if Ms. Kawakami knew he was meeting with Niijima right now, she couldn’t do anything to his body without arousing suspicion.

Still, as Ren entered the Student Council Room, he found himself filled with trepidation. It didn’t help that Makoto was leaning against the table in the exact same spot where she had been sitting when she dismissed him like so much garbage in their last encounter. She was looking particularly pleased with herself too, which could only spell trouble for Ren.

“Ah. Earlier than expected… Have a seat.” Makoto gestured to a chair at the table, which Ren sat in. Makoto sat across from him. “I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Really?” Ren crossed his arms. He knew he was poking the bear, but he just couldn’t let this girl summon him without expressing his displeasure somehow. “There’s no duplicitous pretense to this meeting? You’re just going to tell me what you want?”

“Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame.” Makoto wasn’t going to entertain his rudeness. Not today. “Won’t you tell me the truth behind the Phantom Thieves’ incidents?” Ren just stared at her, so she continued. “Can’t answer that? Ah, of course. There’s no way you would admit to such things.” Makoto pulled out her cell phone and opened her recording of Ryuji. “Have a listen.”

“If someone else could help ‘em, we wouldn’t be doin’ stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with!”

_“THAT IDIOT!”_ Ren's brain was working overtime, trying to think of a way out of this. _“There’s gotta be a way. Ryuji yells a lot of stupid things. Maybe I can somehow claim it doesn’t mean what it sounds like.”_

“So you think it’s true?” Now Ann’s voice was coming out of the phone. “We’ll be ok if we keep doing this… right?”

_“Shit. She’s got us.”_

“What could all this mean?” Once again, Makoto was exerting those trademark waves of pressure, and Ren was drowning in them. Morgana whispered something to Ren from his bag, but he was too terrified to process it. Right now, everything in this room was Makoto Niijima. His senses were all trained on her. His thoughts were all about what she was going to do to him. The very air Ren was breathing belonged to Makoto Niijima, and it felt like she could snap her fingers and deprive him of it at any second. His fate was completely in her hands.

“Was it blackmail? Hypnosis? How do you corner someone into making them confess?”

“Not sure what you mean.” Ren had no idea what he was going for here. He knew Makoto Niijima had him by the short hairs, and he knew that she knew that he knew it. His protests were the last doomed gambit of a desperate man.

“You want to say that this doesn’t prove anything, don’t you? I believe you three are the Phantom Thieves.” Makoto kept staring into Ren's eyes. He couldn’t look away. It was like a pair of invisible hands reached out from her crimson pools of hate and were holding his line of sight captive. “Now, what would the police think if they heard my recording?” Once again, Morgana said something, but Ren didn’t register it. All he could think about was how it was all over. Ren would go to jail. Ryuji and Ann would be kicked out of school for sure, and their lives would be ruined. Yusuke may also be kicked out of school, and wind up homeless. Sojiro would get in trouble for not realizing that the boy in his charge was a Phantom Thief. Without allies, Morgana would never find his lost memories. Everybody he cared about was going to suffer, all because Makoto Niijima couldn’t keep her fiendish little nose out of his business. She had terrorized him emotionally, she had stalked him, she had assaulted him, and now she was going to shatter his life to pieces. She truly was the Devil.

Which is why her next words came as a complete shock to him.

“If you confess the truth, I don’t mind just leaving this between the two of us… You’ll tell me, won’t you?”

Ren remained silent. For once, it wasn’t in defiance. He was at a complete loss for words. The Devil was offering him a deal. This had to be some kind of trap, but what would the point in that be? She already had him dead to rights. Was she just toying with him?

Ren's phone started ringing. He just kept staring at Makoto, completely unsure of what to do.

“Go ahead.” She said it like she was doing him a favor, but it felt like she was giving him a command. He answered it.

“Hey, where you at?” Ryuji’s voice came through the phone at such a volume that Ren would’ve heard him from the other side of the room. “Takin’ a leak? Let’s meet up at the usual spot to hold our Phantom Thieves meetin’!”

All Ren could do was hang up, but he already knew it was too late. He was too mortified to hear Morgana’s cries as anything but meowing.

“As loud as always… But his timing’s perfect.” Makoto’s smile was positively predatory. Ren felt like he was moments away from having his throat torn out. “I’d like everyone else to hear this as well. Won’t you take me to your friends?”

Once again, Morgana said something, but for Ren, it just went in one ear and out the other.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I, Niijima-Senpai?” Ren stood from his chair.

“No, Amamiya-Kun.” Makoto rose as well. “You don’t.”

Ren led Makoto to their hideout in the access way connected to the Shibuya train station. She kept a steady distance of one meter behind him the entire time. It never once occurred to him to try and run away. He felt like a prisoner. No, less than a prisoner. He felt like a dog on a leash. All he could do now was obey and hope that whatever this brunette terror wanted wouldn’t cost him and all his friends their souls.

Naturally, the other Phantom Thieves were not happy to see Makoto.

“Wh-What the Hell!?” Ryuji had been reading a manga magazine on the ground, but jumped up the second he saw the Student Council President’s face.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Ann asked.

Ren wanted so desperately to explain. He tried to find the right words that would let him explain, apologize, and make clear how upset he was all at once. He didn’t get the chance.

“I had him lead me here.” Makoto scanned the group with her eyes. “Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki… And you’re Kitagawa-Kun, correct? Second-year at Kosei High and former pupil of Madarame?” She pulled out her phone, not waiting for Yusuke’s response. “I wanted to ask you all about this.”

Once again, Makoto played the recording. Ren had no idea if his friends were feeling the same terror he was, but he was glad they didn’t say anything yet. He didn’t want the situation to escalate in such a public place.

“An extremely similar technique was used for both Kamoshida and Madarame while those affected by their acts were just coincidentally meeting up… How could that _not_ raise suspicions?”

The Phantom Thieves all shared a look. They felt so stupid. The way Makoto laid it out, it was practically inevitable that somebody would discover their identities eventually.

“What do you intend to do?” Yusuke broke the silence. “Have you come just to say you’re going to report us?”

“I bet someone told you to find us. The school can’t have ties to criminals, after all! And yet they turn a blind eye when it comes to suicide and sexual harassment.” Ann held nothing back. The rebellious part of Ren admired her for it. The Phantom Thieves could never say die, not even in the face of certain exposure. But that was Joker speaking, and Ren didn’t feel like Joker right now. Right now, he was just Ren Amamiya, the boy whose future was uncertain, and he was hoping to any god that would listen that Ann wouldn’t set Makoto off. “Those adults are just using you. I feel sorry for you.”

_“Please don’t explode. Please don’t explode. Please don’t explode.”_ Ren's heart was racing. He was sure that this was the end.

“I…” Makoto hung her head low. “I know.”

“Huh?” Ann had a surprised expression on her face, but at least she managed to vocalize that much. Ren was in complete shock. He had no idea what to expect from all this, but never in a million years would he be prepared for that.

“That’s why I would like to verify the justice you speak of.” Makoto had resumed her usual determined demeanor.

“What?” Ryuji was surprisingly calm. Ren was amazed that his shock couldn’t be heard all the way to Yongen-Jaya.

“I’m the only one who knows about you” Makoto said. “If you prove what you’re doing is just, I’ll erase this.”

“She wants to make a deal.” From Morgana’s tone, Ren couldn’t tell if the talking cat thought this was a good or a bad thing. Ren himself wasn’t sure either. He finally forced himself to speak.

“What do you want from us, Niijima-Senpai? Why are we having this meeting?”

“There is someone whose heart I’d like you to change.”

“Who?” Yusuke asked.

“Hm, so you’re not saying it’s impossible.” Ever the analyst. In retrospect, Ren had no idea why he thought they could ever hide their activities from this girl in the first place. “However… I cannot tell you that just yet. Let’s continue our talk after school tomorrow. On the roof. Assuming you accept my offer, that is.” That last bit had been spoken gravely. Makoto was not detailing an option available to them. She was telling them what they were going to do, and they all knew it.

* * *

The next day, Makoto shared with them the full details: The mafia was entrapping students from Shujin, extorting money from them. She gave them two weeks to discover the identity of the mafia boss and change his heart, but it didn’t go quite according to plan. For reasons unknown to Ren, Makoto involved herself more and more in the investigation, acting rashly, and getting captured by the very man they were trying to find, Junya Kaneshiro. Not long after, she came into the Cognitive World with them, and discovered a Persona of her own, a talking motorcycle called 'Johanna' with a new kind of nuclear magic even Ren hadn’t yet tapped into among his many Personas.

The outfit Makoto had manifested from the spirit of her rebellion wasn’t quite as whimsical as the others’. Dressed in a black biker outfit with spiked shoulder pads, a scarf that flowed like a sinister cape, and a harsh angular slab of iron for a mask, she looked exactly like the indomitable force of nature that Ren had always pictured her as. And when he saw her in action with her motorcycle, her fists, and her revolver, everyone else could finally see it too. She quickly endeared herself to the group. Yusuke had no preconceived notions of her and so was willing to accept her almost immediately. Ryuji was impressed by her strength and seemed envious of her Persona being a motorcycle. Ann was thrilled to have another girl in the group and the two seemed to become close friends overnight. And Morgana was impressed by her intelligence. For his part, Ren was just glad to have all that intelligence and ferocity working with them instead of against them. Within a week of her blackmailing them all, Makoto was now infiltrating Kaneshiro’s Palace as a full-blown Phantom Thief. Well, almost. She was still missing one thing.

“So, what am I going to be called?”

The group had just stepped into the Metaverse for the day and were about to plan a route for their great bank heist when Makoto raised that question. Everybody looked at her in confusion.

“You all were using codenames, weren’t you?”

“You’re quite perceptive” Yusuke replied.

“This time’s a hard one…” Ryuji began brainstorming. Although Ryuji’s brainstorms were more like braindrizzles. “Maybe somethin’ like ‘Shoulder Pads’?”

“Why in the world did you focus on that?” Morgana asked.

“I refuse to be called that” Makoto said. Ren couldn’t blame her.

“What about ‘Rider’?” Yusuke’s suggestion wasn’t terrible.

“Sounds too much like a smuggler.” Makoto shook her head. “Next.”

“Fixer?” Ann was trying. Not succeeding, but trying.

“I’m not a mastermind though. Next.” Makoto looked at the whole group. “Won’t you give me something better to work with?”

_“They’re all focusing on the surface”_ Ren thought. In all of his encounters with Makoto Niijima, he knew that her essence was harsh and domineering. Her outfit captured that to a point, but it wouldn’t be fitting to name her based on looks like they had with Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke. _“She’s already made herself such a presence among us. She’s like a-“_

“She reminds me of an empress” Morgana said. That was more along the lines of Ren's train of thought, but it still didn’t feel quite right. The cartoonish cat turned to Ren. “You got anything, Joker?”

“Queen.” Ren didn’t even need to think about it. It just came out. It was the only thing that was right. The way she stood above others, looking down, passing judgment, always in control. When she so desired, Makoto Niijima had a way of making you feel like an ant facing an elephant. She was a queen, plain and simple.

The others seemed to agree.

“Whoa, I totally see it!” Ann said.

“It fits so well that I’m at a loss for words here.” Morgana’s tone seemed to imply that he got the same vibes from Makoto that Ren did.

“Queen…” Makoto let out something along the lines of a chuckle, albeit a very brief one. “It has a nice ring to it. I like it. Let’s go with that.” Oddly enough, this was the most pleasant Makoto had ever seemed to Ren. Tearing down the curtain on her true self somehow had a calming effect on her. “Now then, could you explain to me the strategy for this mission?”

“Uh… Strategy?” For once, everyone else was just as lost as Ryuji. Admittedly, they’d kind of been flying by the seat of their pants this whole time.

“…You don’t have one?” Makoto was remarkably reserved, given the revelation. “Wait. The Phantom Thieves were acting without any plans!?”

“Uh…” Morgana tried to smooth things over. “We pretty much look around the area, I provide navigation when needed, and then…”

“If we run into Shadows, we beat the shit outta ‘em!” Crude though he was, Ryuji hadn’t misrepresented the facts.

“Very well then. I feel like I’ll be useful for sure.” Makoto began exerting her dominant energy again, although now that she was on their side it was notably less hostile. “It seems like my role is to be the brain of this team. I’ll analyze Mona’s information and give out orders. Any objections?”

As the team’s official leader, Ren couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment towards Makoto’s statement. That said, he didn’t particularly feel like speaking out against her. Nobody else took objection with it either.

* * *

Makoto’s presence gave the group a newfound drive, and once she assumed the official title of team strategist, they managed to secure a route to the treasure in a single day. Within two more days, they had successfully stolen Kaneshiro’s treasure, and he had stopped harassing Makoto through messages. With nothing left to do but run out the clock, the group continued with their daily lives. Ren would help his many confidants around Tokyo, Ryuji continued his running, Ann attended to her modeling and Yusuke his art, and Makoto kept up her studies and her duties as the Student Council President. They also travelled into Mementos to fill requests, and reached new depths, much to Morgana’s delight. Makoto began to engage with the others socially as well. She would go shopping with Ann, or attend museums with Yusuke, or even discuss her fitness regimen with Ryuji at times. But Ren maintained his distance from her, and it didn’t escape her notice.

One morning, about a week after they had completed Kaneshiro’s Palace, Makoto saw Ren waiting for the train to Aoyama-Itchome at the Shibuya Station. From his posture, he seemed relaxed. Makoto decided this would be the perfect time to test a theory of hers. She walked up right to his side.

“Good morning, Ren.”

Ren tensed up at the sound of Makoto’s voice. He stood up straight, his posture far too stiff.

“Good morning, Niijima-Senp- Um, Makoto.” He turned to her with a nervous smile on his face. “How are you doing today?”

_“This simply won’t do.”_ Makoto sighed. She looked at Ren's bag and noticed it was a bit lighter than usual.

“Is Morgana not with you today?”

“Yeah. Sometimes he likes to take off and do his own thing. It takes a literal load off my back, so I don’t mind.”

_“Perfect. This will be easier if we’re alone.”_

“Ren, I’d like to discuss something important with you.” Makoto reached out to touch his shoulder. He flinched the second she made contact. “Would you please meet me in the Student Council Room during lunch period?”

“Oh. Um… Sure. Of course.”

The train pulled in and Ren and Makoto boarded it together. They stood next to each other silently for the whole ride.

The first half of the school day passed by without event, and at lunch time Makoto made her way to the third floor. As she approached the Student Council Room, she saw Ren standing right outside of it, hesitating to go in. She wondered if he realized she wasn’t in the room yet or not.

“Waiting for me?” Ren once again stiffened up at the sound of Makoto’s voice. She opened the door to the Student Council Room. “Shall we?”

Ren cleared his throat as the two walked into the room.

“Feels a bit weird being in here again” he said. “Got a lot of interesting memories thanks to this place.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about” Makoto said as she sat down.

“Yeah?” Ren sat down in the chair opposite her. They were in the exact same spots as the day Makoto played that recording.

“Ren, I need you to be completely honest. Are you afraid of me?”

“What?” Ren tried to lean back in his chair, but his body was incapable of relaxing in any capacity. “Don’t be ridiculous! I’m the leader of the Phantom Thieves. I’m not afraid of anything!”

“Well, that’s true. Joker is dashing, clever, and fearless. And technically speaking, Joker is you.” Makoto crossed her arms, a concerned expression on her face. “But Joker is only a part of you. And I can’t help but notice that the rest of you doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me.”

“Makoto, that’s not- I mean, it’s just like-“

“It’s ok, Ren. I don’t blame you.”

“You don’t?” There it was. Probably the closest thing Makoto was going to get to an admission.

“We have met in this room three times now. And every time, I was antagonistic towards you, andput you through an untenable situation.” Makoto bowed her head as low as she could from her sitting position. “If I had been interrogated, assaulted, and blackmailed by somebody, I would be uncomfortable in their presence too. And for putting you through all those things, I am truly sorry.”

“Oh! Well… I, you know, appreciate that.” Ren gave Makoto the most uncomfortable smile she’d ever seen in her life. “And I… forgive you?”

“It’s fine if you don’t.” Makoto fought every natural urge of hers to be stern and commanding and forced herself to speak in a soft, gentle tone, trying to ease the tension in the room. “But we are teammates now, and there needs to be trust between us.”

“You’re right.” Ren stopped pretending he was anything other than nervous. There was no real point to it. “So what should we do? How do we gain each other’s trust?”

“I’ll make things easier. You already have my trust.” Makoto gave Ren what may have been the first genuinely friendly smile he’d ever seen from her when they weren’t being Phantom Thieves. “Everybody who knows you vouches for your character, and even after all I’ve done to you, you didn’t hesitate to rush to my aid when I went after Kaneshiro on my own. You’re a good person, Ren Amamiya. It’s my own fault for not seeing it earlier.”

“Thank you.” Ren had loosened up a little, but he was still tense. It seemed that logically he had processed that Makoto wasn’t an enemy anymore, but his emotional half was still having trouble accepting it.

“But now _I_ need to gain _your_ trust. And I realize that it may be difficult considering the harsh way I’ve treated you until recently, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes. What can I do to get you to see me differently, Ren?”

“Hmm…” Ren scratched the top of his head. “That’s a tough question. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you get asked every day.”

“Yes, I don’t expect you would have something off of the top of your head.”

“I mean, I don’t want to be rude, but if you’re trying to gain my trust, shouldn’t the gesture be your idea?”

“You have an excellent point. Perhaps I could help you with something that the others couldn’t.” Makoto recalled that first time she saw him in the library, where all the other students looked down on Ren and acted like he didn’t belong at the school. “Perhaps I could help you with your studies? Maybe if your grades improve, the other students would stop spreading rumors about you.”

“I’d appreciate the help, but I don’t think anything is going to change their opinion of me now short of the Prime Minister himself declaring my innocence. I just try not to let those things get to me anymore.”

“Yes, that’s right. You did say that on the rooftop that one time.”

The two just sat there in silence for a minute, thinking. On the bright side, Ren seemed a bit less nervous. Unfortunately, that had been replaced by a mutual frustration.

“This isn’t working, is it?” Makoto asked.

“Nope.”

“We’re approaching this all wrong. There’s no little thing I can do to show you that you don’t have to be afraid of me. We’re dealing with an irrational, emotional problem here.”

“So, what? Do we need an irrational, emotional solution?”

“Something like that…” Ren could see the gears in Makoto’s head turning. “I've got it! Ren, could you meet me in Mementos after school?”

“Mementos?” Ren pulled out his phone, scrolling through his list of goals. “We don’t have any requests to deal with.”

“This wouldn’t be a Phantom Thieves outing. Just you and me. I think I know a way to clear the air between us, but we have to go go Mementos to do it.”

“I don’t know, Makoto, that sounds kind of-“

“Please, Ren. I need you to trust me right now.”

“Well, that is the problem, isn’t it?” Ren nodded. “Alright. We’re not gonna make any progress unless I make an effort too.”

“Wonderful!” Makoto looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh my! Classes are about to resume! I’ll see you after school!”

Makoto rushed out of the room, ready to get back to class. Ren slowly followed in her wake.

_“Mementos… I wonder what she’s got in mind?”_

* * *

Makoto was already waiting at the entrance of Mementos, standing on the tracks, looking into the tunnels ahead. As Ren descended down the stairs from the surface, she still hadn’t noticed him, and he was beginning to feel uncertain about this whole affair.

“She’s been like that for a quite a while.”

Ren nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around and saw Justine standing behind him, instead of waiting by the Velvet Room door like she usually was.

“Justine!” Ren was whispering, not wanting Makoto to hear him. It already felt weird whenever he tried to explain the existence of the Velvet Room to his friends, but he still didn’t know if he wanted Makoto to know if he’d arrived or not. “You nearly scared the life out of me! What are you doing!?”

“You aren’t going to abandon her, are you? She’s been rather patient.”

“Really? That would be a first.”

“I would think that somebody in the process of rehabilitation would not be so quick to judge others.” Justine stared at Ren with that right eye of hers. As always, it felt like she was looking directly into his soul. “You will never successfully complete your journey if you do not form strong bonds with your allies.”

“It’s not that simple. She’s a very scary person.”

“I work in tandem with a frightening person on a daily basis.”

“Please. I’ve seen you tease Caroline. You’re not afraid of her.”

“True, but that does not mean I am always accepting of her intensity. Do your other allies you’ve come to consider friends not have negative traits that upset you?”

“I mean, they do, but it’s not the same with Makoto. Whenever we’re near each other, I feel like I’m facing some kind of monster.”

“As the trickster, you accept all manner of monstrous beings into your heart, often ones who were trying to kill you just moments before.” Justine turned her gaze to Makoto. “Is it really so difficult to extend the same courtesy to her?”

“Can’t argue with that logic…” Ren sighed. “You’re not gonna let me get out of this, are you, Justine?”

“As always, it is up to you to take the steps that will lead to your rehabilitation. That said, as your warden, I believe it would be beneficial for you to try and bond with that girl.” Justine smiled at Ren. It was a soft, melancholy smile, one that conveyed a great sense of wisdom. “The people of the world have done so much to hurt you, and yet your heart has remained open to them. Do not start closing it now, Ren Amamiya.”

“Alright.” Ren took another few steps towards the platform, before stopping and looking back. “Thank you, Justine.” Justine replied with a simple nod, and Ren finished his descent down the stairs and walked to the edge of the platform, overlooking Makoto. He decided it would be best to act like he just got there and was only noticing her now. “Hey, what are you doing down there?”

“Come down here and I’ll tell you!” Makoto didn’t look back at him. She kept staring into the tunnel.

“Ok…” Ren hopped down onto the tracks. He walked forward, stopping once he was standing next to Makoto. “Sorry I’m late, I- Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m here now.”

“Yes, you are.” Makoto turned to Ren and smiled. “I’m glad.”

“So what were you doing before I got here?” Ren looked at the tunnel. “Is this that thing where you stare into the void and it stares back? Because I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to do that.”

“I was just taking in the immensity of it all.” Makoto returned her focus to the darkness ahead. “Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike horror movies?”

“I don’t think so.” Ren knew she didn’t. He and Makoto had never had a discussion about their non-Phantom Thief lives like normal high schoolers did.

“The sense of being hunted, the loneliness, the monsters… It all becomes too much for me to handle. And the darkness… I hate the darkness.”

“And yet, you’re staring directly into it.”

“It is peculiar, isn’t it? It’s like there’s something down there, calling to me. Way down in the furthest reaches, wherever the end of the line is. Do you ever feel the same way, Joker?”

“Sometimes, yeah.” Ren knew exactly what Makoto was talking about, but he never really lingered on those thoughts. Palaces were kind of fun, but everything about Mementos was unsettling. “Do you think it’s got something to do with this being everyone’s Palace?”

“I can only begin to guess. But that’s not why I asked you here.”

“Right. Why _did_ you ask me here, Queen?”

“It occurred to me that a part of you still sees me as somebody trying to ruin your life. And given my past actions, it’s not wholly unjustified. But I want you to see me as somebody who you can trust with your life.”

“What are you talking about? You’re one of the Phantom Thieves. The dangerous stuff we do, I couldn’t work alongside you if I didn’t trust you with my life.”

“I don’t think that’s true, though.” Makoto’s voice had a sad note in it. “I think you tolerate my presence in the Phantom Thieves because I can use a Persona, but you only ‘trust’ me as a member of the group, and not as an individual.”

“I… Um…” Ren couldn’t think of anything to say. She was right. He trusted Queen to be a member of the Phantom Thieves, but he didn’t trust Makoto Niijima to have his back. “So, how do we fix that?”

“We’re going to journey as deep into Mementos as we possibly can. Just you and me. I will keep you safe from every Shadow we encounter.” Makoto pointed a finger at him, entering lecture mode. “You are not to summon your Persona or fight in any capacity. No matter how bad things get, I will handle everything. Understood?”

“Oh. Wow. That’s certainly bold of you…”

“But?” Makoto eyed him suspiciously.

“Well, I mean, yeah, on the higher levels, I’m sure you could take any of these Shadows on your own. But the deeper we go, the harder they’ll be to fight. Plus, we’ll be on foot, so it’ll take a long time to get anywhere, and-“

“One.” Makoto held one finger up. “I never said anything about fighting. And two…” Makoto pulled off her mask and Johanna appeared from under her. “I never said anything about being on foot. Get on.” She revved the motorcycle’s engine.

“Oh!” A lightbulb went off in Ren's head. Makoto didn’t want to act as his bodyguard, she wanted to avoid combat altogether. By riding her Persona-- the very embodiment of her own strength-- through those dark monster-infested tunnels at high speeds, he would be surrendering full control of his safety to her. It was anything but conventional, but as a trust-building exercise, it was more than a step above falling backwards into someone’s arms. “Alright, so how do I…?”

Ren had some difficulty mounting Johanna. As far as Makoto could tell, he had never even seen a motorcycle before. Ultimately, he found his way onto the bike, and seated himself behind her awkwardly.

“Alright, Joker.” Makoto looked back to Ren. “Grab on.”

“To what?”

“My waist.”

“What!?” Ren was so startled he almost fell off Johanna.

“Don’t you know anything about motorcycles?”

“Not really. I grew up in a kind of rural area. Nobody had a motorcycle there.”

“That’s a shame. I would love to ride a motorcycle through the countryside. Not worrying about traffic, open air all around me…” Makoto closed her eyes and got a big smile on her face. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.” Ren actually managed to give Makoto a real smile. “That’s pretty cool, Queen.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Makoto opened her eyes and looked in front of her. “Now grab on. It’s time to get moving!” 

Ren wrapped his arms around Makoto’s waist and she gunned the engine. He was trying to be gentle, but the second they started moving he squeezed tightly. Makoto didn’t seem to mind. They went barreling into the tunnels of Mementos.

Riding through the Path of Qimranut was a breeze. All of the Shadows fled from Johanna. Although the ride was more dangerous, Ren did notice that it was a lot smoother than Morgana’s van form. Johanna’s sleek design meant Makoto could drive on the smooth parts of the floor between the tracks, and even when she did go over the rails for a bit, Ren barely felt anything. He wondered if this was because they were riding a Persona and not a real motorcycle.

As they reached the Path of Aiyatsubus, the Shadows became a bit bolder. They started to chase the two, but Makoto dodged them easily. Once or twice they cornered her and Ren in a dead end, but she’d turn around and maneuver past them, leaving the creatures in the dust. Ren had to hand it to Makoto, he was starting to feel comfortable around her. He was afraid getting on Johanna would be some wild ride where he was constantly praying for his life, but Makoto drove with a cool head and operated a motorcycle with precision. This idea of hers was really working wonders. For almost the entire time Ren had known Makoto, she presented a danger to him. But now that it was her job to keep him safe, she was incredibly astute at it. It made him appreciate the diligence she applied in all the other aspects of her life as well. He was even starting to begrudgingly respect her for her investigation of the Phantom Thieves.

The two took a break as they reached the rest area on the fifth floor of the Path of Chemdah. Ren had brought along a thermos of coffee he prepared at LeBlanc and some cups, and the two sat in the waiting room, sipping it casually. Almost all of the tension between them was gone now.

“So, Makoto…”  Ren felt like they didn’t really need to worry about codenames in the safe area. Honestly, he didn’t know why they bothered. It seemed like pretty much all of their targets realized who they were once they were in the Cognitive World anyway. It was mostly just something he kept up for team morale, but the rest of the team wasn’t here right now. “Do you have a motorcycle license?”

“I wish.” Makoto took a sip of the coffee. She couldn’t believe that it had been made by the teenage boy sitting across from her. The taste was incredible. “I can only drive Johanna so well because she’s an extension of myself. I’m probably going to have to wait until I start college before I can get my license. Sis would absolutely lose it if I told her I wanted to learn to ride a real motorcycle.”

“She’s a prosecutor, right? She sounds really strict. I bet it’s hard living with somebody like that.”

“She’s not around very often, so we don’t speak that much. Though most of the time we spend together, she’s civil.”

“So long as you stay in line, right?”

“I suppose…” Makoto sighed, creating a little ripple effect in her coffee. Sae really had changed in the past couple of years. Sometimes it seemed like she cared less about justice than she did about winning. Part of Makoto was tempted to enter her name into the Meta Nav app, but was afraid of what she might find. Of course, she couldn’t tell Ren that. This whole day was about making him comfortable around her. “What about you, Ren? How are things at LeBlanc? If the flavor of this coffee is any indication, I imagine they’re going well.”

“Your analysis is keen as ever, Niijima-Senpai.” It was the first time Ren addressed her that way without negativity. Now he was saying it in a playful, almost teasing fashion. “Yeah, Boss pretends to be a lot harder than he actually is. He really seems to want to project this old-school manly cool guy image or something. Inside, he’s a big softie. Getting close to him has been a slow process, and I still feel like he’s holding some major stuff back, but he’s starting to feel like a second father to me.”

“That’s nice to hear.” Makoto was enjoying getting to know Ren. After so long, he’d finally let down his guard. Another question came to her mind. She deliberated for a moment whether she should ask it, but felt that his reaction would be a good test to see how this trust-building exercise was going. “If you don’t mind my asking, what about your actual father? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you telling the others about your parents.”

“That’s because I haven’t told them. Not even Morgana.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry for prying.”

“No, don’t be. It’s not really a sore subject, it’s just…” Ren looked at his reflection in the glass surrounding the benches. “I don’t really know where we stand right now.”

“Because of your probation?”

“Yeah. My folks were never exactly your typical Japanese parents. They both wanted the normal stuff for me; Good grades, important job, wife and kids, all that stuff, but they were never really part of that success-driven culture themselves so they were never all that pushy about it. They were both really affectionate.”

“They sound like lovely people.”

“They are. But as much as they loved me, there was always this weird kind of distance. Dad’s a repair man. Works with his hands. He’d always talk about how I’m much smarter than him, and how I’m gonna do bigger and better things than he ever could. I think he was actually kind of happy to see me go, even if it was part of probation. I think he sees our hometown as kind of a dead end, so he didn’t want me to get too attached.”

“What about your mother?”

“Mom is kind of the opposite. All she can see is her little boy. She said she wanted me to have a better life, but secretly I think she would’ve been happy if I’d never moved out of the house at all. Like some big business was just going to pop up in our Podunk town and I’d become the CEO there and all that. But I don’t think she ever really saw me for me.”

“And being away has strained your relationship more, I take it.”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. I haven’t heard from them since I came out here.”

“What!? But it’s been over two months!”

“I know. They never call. I’ve tried calling them a few times but they never answer. And they haven’t answered any of the letters I’ve sent them either.” Ren stared sadly into his coffee cup. “My conviction must’ve really broken their hearts.”

“Oh, Ren…” Makoto wanted to offer him some kind of reassurance. The problem was, she didn’t know his parents. They didn’t sound like the kind of people who would abandon their son because of a criminal record, but she couldn’t say that for sure. She was happy he felt like he could open up to her about that kind of thing, but right now she needed to change the topic. “Say, this is the furthest we’ve ever been in Mementos, right? Do you want to see what lies below?”

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

Makoto and Ren rode Johanna into new, unexplored depths of Mementos. Ren was clearly still feeling a little down, so Makoto tried to make the ride more exciting by baiting a large crowd of Shadows into chasing them. The more Makoto dodged the lumbering swipes of the ink-like behemoths, the more Ren seemed to cheer up. There was a thrill for both of them. The Shadows were bigger and had superior numbers, but Makoto was just better. Faster, smarter, more aware of her surroundings. She was toying with them, and it was hilarious.

Eventually, an entire wall of Shadows began to converge on the duo. Makoto was getting ready for some big trick, revving her engine. The Shadows got closer and closer, and then… Just vanished.

“What just happened?” Makoto asked.

“I have no idea” Ren said. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

It was then that they heard a sound in the distance. Yes, Mementos was full of creepy sounds. Rumbling trains, meandering Shadows, and a wind that sounded like people wailing. But this was new. This was the rattling of chains. And it was getting closer.

“Joker, what is that?”

“I don’t know.” Ren thought back. Hadn’t Morgana mentioned some danger to staying on any one floor of Mementos for too long? The group had never done it, so he had kind of forgotten about it until now.

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

Just a bit down the tunnel, a large figure in a red cloak turned the corner. It floated off the ground and carried a pistol with an overly-long barrel in each hand.

“Joker, what is that!?”

“I still don’t know! But I don’t think we should stick around to find out!”

“Right!” Johanna turned around and carried the two in the opposite direction. They turned a corner and came to a dead end.

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

“Shit, it’s getting closer! Any ideas, Queen?”

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

“Just one. Have you ever seen ‘Akira’?”

“Can't say I've met him, no.”

“It's not someone's name. There's a movie called "Akira". It's somewhat famous. I’m guessing you haven’t seen it.”

CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.

The barrel of a gun was slowly coming into view from around the corner.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then this is going to be even more exciting for you. Hold on tight!”

The cloaked figure came around the corner, staring directly at Ren and Makoto. Makoto revved Johanna’s engine and took off at full speed. As she was about to plow into the figure, Makoto turned Johanna ninety degrees and drifted, Ren's arms cinched around her waist like a corset. Johanna tilted to the side more and more in the drift, and Ren was sure he and Makoto were going to fall off at any second, but that second never came. All of a sudden, they were upright again, and Johanna took off down the tunnel, the cloaked figure giving chase.

It started firing its guns at them, and Makoto had to jerk left and right to dodge the shots. More and more, Ren felt like he was going to fall off, as the creature’s shots got more accurate. Although they were in a long, straight stretch of tunnel, Makoto suddenly turned Johanna towards the wall.

“What are you doing!?” Ren shouted.

“You trust me, right?”

“Yes, but-“

“So trust me!”

Johanna’s tires made contact with the rounded subway wall. Makoto began to pilot the motorcycle along the curvature of the tunnel, making her harder for their ghastly pursuer to hit. As Johanna became perpendicular to the ground, Ren lost his grip and began to fall.

“JOKER!”

Makoto reached out with her left hand and grabbed Ren by the ankle, hanging on for dear life to Johanna’s handlebar with her right hand.

“Queen! Don’t worry about me! Just go!”

“Absolutely not!”

The creature kept firing at Ren and Makoto. By now, Johanna was driving along the ceiling. It took all of the strength in Makoto’s right arm and her legs to stay on the bike, while her left arm alone was left to bear Ren's full weight. She screamed in pain as she felt like her arm was being torn out of its socket.

“Queen, please! You have to let go!”

“I will do no such thing!”

Makoto’s determination spiked, and with it, Johanna became faster than ever before. She successfully drove across the ceiling, making her way down the other side of the tunnel, and came back to the ground, pulling Ren back onto the bike at the same time. They outran the cloaked monster chasing them and gunned it up the stairs to the previous floor of Mementos, and they didn’t stop driving until they reached the surface.

* * *

“Here. I have some painkillers for your arm.”

The sun was setting over Shibuya, and Ren and Makoto had made their way to a secluded alley. Ren handed Makoto some of Tae Takemi’s homemade medicine. She drank the pill down with a mouthful of some Second Maid they got from a nearby vending machine, and Ren handed her the entire pill bottle to keep.

“Thank you, Ren.” Makoto was sitting on the ground, her back against a wall, sweating heavily. She had really exerted herself while they were running from that monster.

“That was really incredible back there, Makoto.” Ren sat down next to her. “Even if one of my Personas was a motorcycle, I don’t think I could’ve pulled off what you just did.”

“I’m sure you would have come up with something just as incredible if you needed to.”

“I don’t know. You’re the brains of our outfit, after all.”

“Well, I won’t argue with that.” Makoto gave Ren a boastful grin. “So, are you still afraid of me?”

“If I had to fight you, definitely. You’re something else, Queen.” Ren returned Makoto's grin. “But if you’re asking if the trust-building exercise was a success, the answer is ‘yes’.”

“That’s good to hear. It almost makes the arm pain worth it.”

“Well, now we’re even.”

“Huh?”

“Your arm locks aren’t exactly gentle.”

“There’s no way that was anywhere near as painful as this!”

“Well, one time you attacked me, then another time you saved me. So however you wanna look at it, it all still cancels out.”

“Are you going to help me up here, or are you going to leave an exhausted, defenseless girl in an alleyway all by herself?”

“Of course, my Queen.” Ren stood up, helping Makoto to her feet by grabbing her good arm. He held her steady as she leaned against him for support. “Allow me to walk you home. I am a gentleman thief, after all.”

“Why Ren Amamiya, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me.”

“You know, the way we’re walking together, I bet some people will think we’re a couple.”

“You think so? I hope not.”

“You wound me, Makoto.”

“Oh no! I didn’t mean- You’re a very good look- That is, I’m sure you would-“ Makoto clammed up and started blushing. Ren laughed at her, which only made her blush harder. “Are you picking on me!?”

“Perish the thought.” Ren led Makoto out of the alleyway, towards Central Street. “This time, you can trust me with your safety.”

“Yes. I believe I can.” Makoto smiled at Ren.

_“Damn…” Ren_  was glad that the sun was directly behind him. If his face wasn’t in shadow, Makoto might have noticed him blushing. _“Mishima was right. She IS cute.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Creezus, this chapter wound up being almost as long as the previous two combined. I really should've broken this up, but I couldn't stand the thought of a chapter that was mostly built on scenes already written into the game, and I didn't feel like cutting any of it out.
> 
> I've been getting a lot of positive feedback on this story, so I hope this was a satisfying conclusion for you lot. I definitely want to do some more Makoto stuff in the future, but I don't see myself coming back to her as Akira's antagonist any time soon.
> 
> UPDATE:
> 
> While changing Joker's name from Akira to Ren, I had to get rid of this bit of dialogue. I have preserved it here because it's a gag I like, but it no longer works under his new name.
> 
> CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.
> 
> “Shit, it’s getting closer! Any ideas, Queen?”
> 
> CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.
> 
> “Just one. Have you ever seen ‘Akira’?”
> 
> “Is that some kind of trick question?”
> 
> “No, not your name. ‘Akira’. It’s a movie. I’m guessing you haven’t seen it.”
> 
> CLINK. CLINK. CLINK.
> 
> The barrel of a gun was slowly coming into view from around the corner.
> 
> “No, I haven’t.”
> 
> “Then this is going to be even more exciting for you. Hold on tight!”

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been updated to use Ren Amamiya's canon name.


End file.
